Phrasal verbs

Hi Everyone!
Phrasal verbs help people sound more fluent when speaking English, especially in the English speaking exams!

Here is the transcript of the lesson and links with the explanations of the phrasal verbs. Enjoy!

Hi, this is Amy from Study Online English. Today I’m going to teach you some phrasal verbs that you can use to talk about exercise, or to talk about a hobby.

So, at the moment I’m on my way to the gym to try out a new class. So, Try Out means to see if I like it. Okay. So you might try out a sport. You might try out tennis, or you might try out yoga, might try out knitting, creative writing, etc.

So, you go to the gym to work out. So, to Work Out is to do exercise. So, it could be swimming, tennis, walking in the evening, anything. So, that’s called Working Out.

So, when you decide to work out you take up something. So, you Take Up a sport. So, for instance, you would take up running. You could take up aqua-aerobics. So you would say, if someone said, “What have you been doing recently,” you could say, “Oh, I’ve taken up running.” You can also use take up for hobbies. So you could say, “I’ve taken up creative writing.” “I’ve taken up learning English.”

So when you go to the gym, and start a class, usually you Warm Up first. So you warm up, which basically means you do easy exercises before you do more intense exercises. Then at the end of class you Cool Down. So you do some stretches. You do some slower movements, breathing exercises, etc. so, warm up and cool down.

Next phrasal verb, give up. Give Up basically means to stop doing something. So you might say, “I’ve had to give up running, because I hurt my knee,” or, “I’m going to give up swimming, because I have no time.”

In this video, you are going to hear a conversation between two native English speakers. It will help you to learn new vocabulary and phrasal verbs, such as: finish off, look forward to, take care of, look after, without a doubt etc.

For people preparing for IELTS, it is really helpful because a lot of the questions I ask are used in IELTS but also in normal everyday conversations. Listen to the way I ask Katy questions to keep the conversation going because a lot of examiners do the same. They want you to express yourself as confidently as possible.

The transcript is below with links and explanations of the phrasal verbs, vocabulary and phrases that we used in the conversation.

Happy learning!

Transcript:

Hello, this is Amy, from Study Online English, and you’re going to hear some more conversations with native English speakers.

Katy is one of the sportiest people I know. Katy, what are your hobbies? What have you been doing this week? Sportiest: A sporty person enjoys sports and is good at it. Sportiest is the superlative

Well, what have I been doing this week? I’ve been walking, cycling, and doing some obstacle training, as I quite enjoy Spartan races, obstacle races.

Can you explain what Spartan Race is?

Spartan Race is basically between eight and 10 kilometres and about twenty obstacles. Obstacle: an object that you have to go around or over : something that blocks your path

I wouldn’t be able to do that.

Oh, I’m sure you could. I’m certain you could

I wouldn’t mind doing a mini one, one day. One day I’ll come with you.

Exactly, why not?

So who introduced you to it?

Well, a friend of my sisters actually introduced me to it last year.

She said to me, “Why don’t you train for that?” and I was like,(my reaction)I wasn’t quite sure at the time, because I actually had a friend that did it a few years back(a few years ago) and I was like no, no, no, that’s definitely not for me, a bit too intense. And I did one race, and that was it, I was hooked.(addicted)

Do many girls do it? (Many for countable)

Quite a few actually. It’s getting really popular, believe it or not.

Do you think some people like to train toward something?

I think it’s important to have goals sometimes.

Have an objective.

When you’ve got your nine to five job, or you’re routine, I think it’s just nice, sometimes, to disconnect and give yourself something to look forward to.

Yeah, do you think a lot of people are quite sporty here, or do you think it’s a mixture?

Oh, definitely. No, I think around here, especially a lot. And I think in general now people are taking more care of their health, you know physically, people are looking after themselves more. Taking care: to pay attention. Look after: you do what is necessary to keep yourself/someone/something healthy and safe or in good condition.

– Eating healthier. I just think people are more aware (more conscious) of it now than they used to be. (they were before)

Yeah, it’s over what, (how much time) the last 10 years people have become…

I think so, definitely. – Yeah, because we live in Spain at the moment, but I’m leaving sadly.

We’re going to miss you lots.

I’m not going for long. I’m going to go to Ireland for a little bit, to Southern Ireland. And visit my family, and just spend some time there for a couple of months and see if I like it.

What do you think people like doing here in their spare time?

I think, round here especially, cycling is huge.(huge can for used as very popular) I mean, a lot of people cycle, a lot of people run as well. Things like that. A lot of outdoor activities more so, because the weather’s so good here.

Yeah, there’s a lot of people who come and train here…(train for cycling races)

Oh, they’re from all over Europe. Yeah, they come and train.

They’re cyclist aren’t they? Why do you think that is?

I think because of the great weather conditions, more than anything. And it’s prepared for that.

It’s got a lot of mountains as well, haven’t we?

We have, and that we have for training purposes.

Yeah, it’s a bit annoying sometimes though. (however)

Yes, I do agree with that, even though I like to cycle, hey.

Because there’s just so many of them.

How often do you see your friends, how often do you see everyone? (everyone is used when the person knows who you are talking about)

Oh, I definitely see my friends a few times during the week.(few: more than two)

What is a phrasal verb?

Welcome to the world of phrasal verbs. A phrasal verb is a verb followed by a preposition or an adverb, the combination creates a meaning different from the original verb alone. Some of them can be easily understood but unfortunately you just have to learn to remember a lot of them.

What I find most helpful, is not just to learn the rules of each phrasal verb but to practise making up new sentences using the phrasal verb. By doing this you will find it easier to remember when to use them.

In the examples below, why not try making up your own sentences similar to the examples.

Phrasal verb call explained

Call after

My father is called William after his father.

I’ve called the shop Stella’s after my grandmother.

Call around

To visit someone.

I’ll call around after work tomorrow (no need to say “to visit you”)

Call away

I am afraid the doctor was called away on an emergency earlier today, but he should be back soon.

Call back

Return a phone call.

I’ll call you back, someone else is on the other line.

Return to a location.

I’ll callback in 30 minutes for the take away.

To be asked to return for a second interview or a second audition.

The Theatre only called back four girls from the audition.

Call for

Publicly demand that something be done.

The protesters were calling for the resignation of the president.

Feel it’s necessary to do something.

You passed your exams, this calls for a celebration!!

Make arrangements to collect someone from somewhere.

I’ll call for you at seven o’clock.

Call on

To demand or request that someone do something.

The supporters of the opposition called on the government to call a new election.

To go visit someone.

I’m going to call on my dad on the way to the supermarket to see if he needs anything.

Call up

Phone someone.

Have you called up all your friends and told them about the great offer.

Select someone to play on a team

I was called up to play for the town volleyball team.

To summon for military service, especially during a war.

If WWIII breaks out I’m terrified that I´ll be call up.

Call in

To telephone someone or to go visit someone.

I’ll call in and see you in an hour.

The radio station’s listeners have been calling in all morning with answers to the quiz.

I’ll call you in five minutes I’m just having dinner.

To ask someone to enter the room.

The doctor asked the nurse to call in the next patient.

To ask a person, especially an expert, to come to do something.

We will have to call in professional painter to paint the house it’s too big.

Call out

To shout out to somebody.

Can you call out to the kids, their dinner is nearly ready.

Order or request help from someone e.g. the police

We had to call out the police because there was a big fight outside the bar.

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My name is Amy, the creator of Study Online English. I am a certified Cambridge University IELTS teacher as well as a qualified English language teacher and language lover. I am a compassionate teacher who understands and listens to student’s goals, needs and unique interests.